"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." - Articles of Faith 1:13
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Monday, November 19, 2012

The Greatest Soccer Player of All Time

Who is the greatest soccer player of all time? There are certainly many candidates, and many different opinions on this matter. Perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time hasn't even been born yet. I am no expert on this topic, but I will admit that I have derived much satisfaction from playing, watching and talking about the great sport of soccer.

Before outlining some of my answers to the question posed above, allow me to provide a background to my exposure to the game of soccer. Soccer was not my first love, but I did play in leagues when I was but a wee lad, and I did enjoy it from a young age. Not until high school, however, did I understand that soccer actually had enough value to merit the attention of the whole world. I wasn't planning on playing soccer as a freshman in high school until a young lady who was a couple of years my senior encouraged me to try out. My best friends (and my brothers, who are also my best friends) were all great soccer players, and we had an excellent coach who had played soccer on the collegiate level. We were a small school, but we won the state championship four years in a row. This experience is what first kindled my love for the game.

Then I was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Southern Italy. As you may know, soccer in Italy is almost a religion. We played a soccer, or calcetto, almost every week. A great way to start a conversation with an Italian person was simply to ask about soccer: "Per quale squadra tifi?" ("Which team do you root for?") We collected soccer cards and met soccer players. Needless to say, this only increased my enthusiasm for the game.

In college, my brother and I tried out for the team. Even though we didn't make the team, we continued to play intramurals and indoor soccer. We also played in other leagues. I have played soccer in France and in Israel as well. One of the most exciting matches I have ever seen was between an Israeli and a Palestinian team.

There have been many great soccer players, and I couldn't possibly begin to list them all. There are many great players that I have probably never even heard of. But that won't stop me from beginning to compile a list of some of my favorite players, with highlights of their football prowess.

As you have probably noticed, I've left out a lot of great defenders and keepers, but this is only the beginning. Who are your favorite players? Who would you add to the list? What are their greatest goals or plays?

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Welcome to The Good Report, a forum in which to seek, gather and report upon all that is virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy. The foundational principles of this forum are the love of God and of fellow man. The vision of this blog is to drink into one principle of love and to receive truth, let it come from whence it may.